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Confidence boost for Khel Vikas weightlifters before youth national competition

Confidence boost for Khel Vikas weightlifters before youth national competition

The success of the Khel Vikas development programme in eastern India has been highlighted by the progress of some of its young weightlifters.

Kankia School Weightlifting academy competed in the State Schools Weightlifting Championships on the 12th of December, 2013 in the city of Berhampur. This is great news for junior sports in India after seeing the young athletes performing well.

The Kankia School weightlifters competed against other schools within Orissa at the 59th State School Championships, which was at the Government Sports Hostel at Berhampur Stadium. Of the 8 Khel Vikas athletes that participated, four girls and one boy have qualified for the national competition. It was great social integration having athletes and coaches meeting others from around the state.

The weightlifters showed how well they have progressed under the guidance of the Khel Vikas coaching staff. Two female weightlifters, Santilata Nayak and Jyoti Badamundi, have made a national level competition within the first year of weightlifting, lifting a total of 92Kgs (53Kg category) and 70Kgs (44Kg category), respectively. This is empowering for young females looking to take up weightlifting after seeing the Kankia School girls developing well in the sport, which is usually male dominated.

The young athletes will now be preparing for the school national weightlifting competition, to be held in January 2014 in New Delhi (Boys) and Guwahati, Assam (Girls), where they will be competing against qualifiers from other states. It is a great boost to see young individuals developing well and improving their health through sport.